Thursday, August 7, 2014

The Expendables 3 (PG-13 for profanity and violence) Third
installment in the high-impact franchise finds the guys reuniting to rescue a
former team member (Wesley Snipes) before squaring off with another (Mel
Gibson) who has gone rogue with malevolent intentions. Beefcake cast featuring
Sly Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Terry Crews, Jason Statham, Dolph
Lundgren, Randy Couture, Kellan Lutz and Jet Li, along with Harrison Ford, Antonio
Banderas and Kelsey Grammer.

The Giver (PG-13 for action, violence and mature themes)
Adaptation of Lois Lowry’s Newbery Award-winning children’s novel about a teen
(Brenton Thwaites) who becomes disillusioned upon learning the truth about his
supposed utopia upon becoming the protégé of the one person (Jeff Bridges) living
there aware of the existence of pain, sadness, war and other woes. Ensemble
includes Meryl Streep, Katie Holmes, Odeya Rush, Taylor Swift and Alexander
Skarsgard.

Let’s Be Cops (R for profanity, violence, drug use,
sexuality and graphic nudity) Crime comedy about pals (Damon Wayans, Jr. and
Jake Johnson) pretending to be police officers at a costume party who later
become entangled in a real life web of intrigue involving mobsters and crooked
detectives. With Andy Garcia, Angela Kerecz and Nina Dobrev.

INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

Abuse of Weakness (Unrated) Catherine Breillat wrote and directed
this semi-auto-biopic about a filmmaker (Isabelle Huppert) who finds herself
manipulated by a cruel con artist (Kool Shen) after suffering a stroke. With
Laurence Ursino, Christophe Sermet and Ronald Leclercq. (In French with
subtitles)

Dinosaur 13 (PG for mature themes, mild epithets and brief
smoking) Archeology documentary about a dig in the South Dakota Badlands, led
by paleontologist Peter Larson, which unearthed the bones of the biggest Tyrannosaurus
Rex ever found.

Fort
McCoy (R for violence) Fact-based
World War II saga, set in Wisconsin
in the summer of ‘44, about a barber (Eric Stoltz) who set up shop nearby a
U.S. Army base also serving as a German POW camp. Co-starring Kate Connor, Camryn
Manheim, Seymour Cassel,
Brendan Fehr and Andy Hirsch.

Frank (R for profanity and some sexuality) Musical comedy
about an aspiring musician (Domhnall Gleeson) with second thoughts after joining
a rock band whose mysterious lead singer (Michael Fassbender) wears a
bubble-head mask, 24/7. With Maggie Gyllenhaal, Scoot McNairy and Tess Harper.

Jake Squared (R for profanity) Elias Koteas stars as the
title character of this romantic dramedy about a 50 year-old loser at love who
decides to make a movie about his life in order to figure out why he’s screwed
up every romantic relationship he’s ever had. Cast includes Virginia Madsen,
Jennifer Jason Leigh and Kevin Railsback.

Life after Beth (R for violence, sexuality, nudity, brief
drug use and pervasive profanity) Horror comedy about a grief-stricken guy
(Dane DeHaan) who gets more than he wished for when his recently-deceased
girlfriend (Aubrey
Plaza) comes back to life
as a man-eating zombie. Supporting cast includes John C. Reilly, Anna Kendrick,
Paul Reiser, Molly Shannon and Cheryl Hines.

Moebius (Unrated) Oedipal drama revolving around a housewife
(Eun-woo Lee) who becomes so enraged about her philandering husband’s
(Jae-hyeon Jo) having an affair that she considers performing a taboo act while
crying on her son’s (Young-ju Seo) shoulder for support. (In Korean with
subtitles)

Mr. X (Unrated) Cat’s out of the bag biopic about Leos
Carax, aka Mr. X, a mysterious French filmmaker who enjoys a cult following
despite the fact that he does his best to hide his identity. (In French,
English and Japanese with subtitles)

The One I Love (R for profanity, sexuality and drug use)
Romantic comedy revolving around a couple (Mark Duplass and Elisabeth Moss)
whose weekend getaway intended to revitalize their flagging marriage instead has
them confronting an unexpected dilemma. With Ted Danson, and Oscar-winners
Marlee Matlin (Children of a Lesser God) and Mary Steenburgen (Melvin and
Howard).

Ragnarok (PG-13 for frightening images) Historical adventure
about an archaeologist (Pal Sverre Hagen) who leads an expedition to Finnmark,
a no man’s land between Norway
and Russia,
in search of the true meaning of the ancient runes. Featuring Nicolai Cleve
Broch, Bjorn Sundquist and Sofia Helin. (In Norwegian with subtitles)

Septic Tank (R for violence, profanity and gory images) Gruesome
horror flick about a sewer worker (Jason David Brown) who mutates into a
hideous monster after getting trapped in a septic tank while searching
underground for the source of the city’s water contamination. With Molly
Dunsworth, Robert Maillet and Tim Burd.

The Trip to Italy
(Unrated) Road-oriented sequel to The Trip takes the two BFF foodies (Steve
Coogan and Rob Brydon) on a six-city tour to sample the cuisine at leading restaurants
all around Italy.
With Rosie Fellner, Claire Keelan and Marta Barrio.

A Will for the Woods (Unrated) Final wish documentary about
a psychiatrist suffering from lymphoma’s plan to minimize his corpse’s carbon
footprint by being buried in the forest.

The Word (Unrated) Revenge drama about a corporate executive
(Kevin O’Donnell) who is torn between taking the law into his own hands and
moving on with his life in the wake of his son’s (Vincent Pavonetti) kidnap and
murder. With James Naughton, Maggie Lacey and Natalia Payne.

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The Sly Fox Film Reviews

KamWilliams.com

The Sly Fox Film Reviews publishes the content of film critic Kam Williams. Voted Most Outstanding Journalist of the Decade by the Disilgold Soul Literary Review in 2008, Kam Williams is a syndicated film and book critic who writes for 100+ publications around the U.S., Europe, Asia, Africa, Canada and the Caribbean. He is a member of the New York Film Critics Online, the NAACP Image Awards Nominating Committee and Rotten Tomatoes.

In addition to a BA in Black Studies from Cornell, he has an MA in English from Brown, an MBA from The Wharton School, and a JD from Boston University. Kam lives in Princeton, NJ with his wife and son.